An exclusive study carried out by Inter Region Economic Network (IREN Kenya) and sponsored by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Global Partnership Hub reveals that the EU’s influence in Africa is rapidly dwindling as China’s rises.

The report under the name "Clash of Systems: African Perceptions of the Engagement of the European Union and China" is likely to shake decision-makers in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. Not only is the actual volume of business declining – China is now the most important trading partner in almost all African countries and has displaced former colonial powers such as France and Great Britain as well as domestic export nations such as South Africa – the reputation of Europeans is also declining.

The study that involved more than 1,000 African decision-makers points out areas of strength and weakness in the EU and China’s engagement with Africa.